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Dealers seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief Wednesday evening following Allied Waste's third-quarter earnings release as fears of more credit defaults in a soft economy had the market bracing for bad news. Dealers noted that Allied's earnings loss was not as bad as they had expected, and that overall the credit still appears relatively strong. Bids for the paper promptly notched up to 96 1/8-7/8 from the 96 range earlier in the day. An estimated $10 million had traded by late Wednesday. The trash-hauling company is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Calls to Mike Burnett, head of investor relations, were not returned.

Owens-Illinois' bank debt traded up a few points this week, with the term loan trading at 94-95 and the revolver trading in the 91 range. "The company has had good numbers and is a strong company," a dealer said, explaining the positives for Owens-Illinois. However, the company's asbestos related issues continues to haunt the name. In its third-quarter report, the company noted that improving energy costs, reduced interest expense, and lower fixed costs are continuing to have a favorable impact on the company's performance. Owens Illinois is a glass manufacturer based in Toledo, Ohio. Calls to R. Scott Trumbull, cfo, were referred to the investor relations department and not returned by press time.

An estimated $20 million of Pacific Gas & Electric's bank debt traded in the 93 5/8 range early this week on news of the company's third-quarter earnings more than tripling. The company also reported that its utility unit, which has filed for bankruptcy-court protection, has cash holdings of $4.3 billion. Still, market players remain wary of how the company will hold up as California's economy suffers and questions remain about the stability of future utility rates. Also, San Francisco was voting last week as LMW went to press on whether to create a municipal power district. If approved, PG&E would lose 8% of its customer base. The utility company is based in San Francisco, Calif.

Your long term business partner, your consultant, your career adviser, your friend who puts you in a taxi at midnight. Whatever you call them, headhunters are keen to stress that they provide a multi-faceted service to the financial industry. And right now the pressure is on for recruitment firms to prove their worth. Their practices and services are coming under far closer scrutiny as the slowdown bites and they find themselves just as vulnerable as their client base. Quentin Carruthers visits the recruiters to report on their unique view of the banking world.

For some in the careers industry, the current climate is proving fruitful. "Business has almost doubled this year," says Caroline Swain, managing director of Lee Hecht Harrison Ltd (LHH). She suspects that it may have increased even more for others, such as Meridian Consulting, one of the market leaders in the City of London. At Right Management Consultants (RMC), Anthony Payne, director, reports: "Events have accelerated and we are exceptionally busy. September 11 compounded the recessionary effects being imported from the US."

Strategic hiring

Enron's bank debt has been hit the hardest this week, landing in the 75-80 range from the high 99 range last week. Dealers estimate about $15 million had traded as of yesterday afternoon. The company is seeking $2 billion from private-equity firms and power trading firms. Also, American Tower's bid-offer spread softened about 3 points to 88-90 on a weak earnings release. PG&E's debt traded up to 93.675 from the 93 range on news of the company's third-quarter figures tripling over last year.

Aanders Haagen, formerly v.p. of structured credit products at Bank of America in Hong Kong, is joining ABN AMRO in Singapore, according to a market official familiar with the move. He is expected to start in two weeks. Haagen did not return calls.

Sydney-based hedge fund Basis Capital is considering entering an asset swap in the coming months as part of a convertible bond arbitrage strategy on Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing. The corporate is trading at around 650 basis points over the swap curve, according to Steve Howell, cio in Sydney. He added that he expects the converts to tighten to around 500bps in the coming months. Howell attributes the temporary widening to part of a general credit spread widening since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. It will likely enter the trade within three to six months if credit quality stabilizes and the credit risk premium narrows.

ABN AMRO has hired Wing Hong Chan, v.p. in the corporate advisory group at J.P. Morgan in Hong Kong, as v.p. of derivatives marketing for the financial markets group at ABN in Hong Kong. Chan will handle derivatives marketing for Hong Kong and China, according to Bruce Shu, spokesman at ABN in Hong Kong. Chan reports to Greg Major, senior v.p. and head of Asia Pacific derivatives marketing at ABN in Singapore.

AXA Investment Managers is planning to offer an Asian absolute return and a statistical arbitrage hedge fund in the first half of next year to institutional investors. Both funds will be able to use over-the-counter derivatives and the firm expects to raise approximately USD500 million for each strategy over the next three years, according to Joanna Munro, global head of business development and fixed income and structured asset management in London.